This anti-Semitism in New York will shake you to your core

Warning: Language. New York police arrest a young man as a bystander records events. But what is most shocking is what the man says.

Footage from New York

Police officers are arresting a man in New York and a bystander has started filming. It isn’t clear what has led up to this. The viewer does not know the circumstances of the arrest. Yet we hear him scream threats and obscenities against Jews. This vile language is quite frightening to hear. As a result, anyone who heard it would understandably be shocked.

What is anti-semitism?

According to the Anti Defamition League (ADL), anti-semitism is: “the belief or behavior hostile toward Jews just because they are Jewish.”

Anti-semitism in the United States

Here is part of the ADL’s report on anti-semitism in the United States: “ADL identified 1,986 anti-Semitic incidents perpetrated throughout the United States in 2017. This represents an increase of 57% since 2016’s 1,267 incidents reported. For the first time since at least 2010, an incident occurred in every US state. The states with the highest numbers of incidents were New York (380 incidents), California (268 incidents), New Jersey (208 incidents), Massachusetts (177), Florida (98), and Pennsylvania (96). These states combined made up more than half (62%)of the total number of incidents. The number of incidents tends to correlate with large Jewish populations.”

Anti-semitism around the world

It’s happening in other places also. Germany must do more to tackle anti-Semitism. It should set up a national database to record anti-Semitic incidents that are not included in crime statistics. These conclusions are from a recent Reuters report. Germany’s anti-semitism commissioner said anti-Semitism was still largely associated with extreme right-wing ideology. Germany’s official figures for the first eight months of 2017 showed nearly 93 percent of reported anti-Semitic crimes linked to far-right extremism.

Other countries also experience anti-semitism. Around the world, people are facing one of the oldest forms of hatred.

As levels are on the rise, we are hopeful that awareness and programs can help stop anti-semitism. Foul language and violence against Jews needs to stop.